Pros
The flagship product is hands down the best in the business sector. The quality, style, and the marketing of the core Fender Brand is untouchable. The company is fantastic at keeping the main Fender brand on task and meeting the market needs. Fender employs musicians who no doubt contribute to keeping Fender guitars in the good graces of the people who buy Fender guitars both professional and aspiring musicians alike. The history of Fender can be felt during every minute of the workday and in my experiences most of the employees love the product they are supporting.
Cons
The stellar success of Fender's flagship brand is sadly a big reason for under-performing niche brands that Fender also owns, Guild, Tacoma, Jackson as examples. There is a "rest on your laurels" attitude that sweeps through upper management every time sales are good with the Fender Brand name. But when another brand is in obvious distress and solutions are recommended often it falls on ears who would much rather hear that everything is fine and because the main brand does so well it offsets concerns. In turn, it seems the upper management doesn't really care about the lesser brands, which teaches the managers controlling those smaller brands that they shouldn't care much either. It sets up confusing and frustrating perimeters to work within and it really doesn't really seem necessary.